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Disney Has Officially Renamed The First Star Wars Movie

Just when you think you’ve got your life sorted and you know what’s what with the world, Disney has to go and screw with all our heads and rename the original Star Wars movie.

Heading back to 1977, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope was our first trip to that galaxy far, far away and made household names of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford. Jump to 2019 and we’re on the cusp of J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX.

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We’ve come a long way since A New Hope, but now, the House of Mouse is renaming George Lucas’ epic space opera. The movie is now called Star Wars: A New Hope, fitting with Disney’s current naming of the movies since Star Wars: The ForceAwakens in 2015.

While Star Wars: A New Hope isn’t quite up there with the acclaimed Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, it’s still pretty great as opening entries go. In the movie, Hamill’s Luke Skywalker is tasked with saving Fisher’s Princess Leia and teams up with Ford’s smuggler, Han Solo.

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Together, the trio of heroes battle to topple the Empire and blow up the gigantic Death Star. Even Star Wars: The Last Jedi has continued the story of the Skywalker saga, with Abrams set to bring the arc to a close later this year.

This isn’t the first time the movie has undergone a revamp. When it was re-released in 1981, Lucasfilm named it Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope to help explain its place in the convoluted timeline.

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Remembering back to Lucas’ prequel trilogy, Episode I was released as Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The franchise has a history of wordy titles, but with all Star Wars movies coming to the new Disney+ streaming service, it makes sense that the studio wants to simplify things.

It was during Disney’s presentation that the new title was revealed alongside a look at how Disney+ will work. As it stands, we still don’t know what Episode IX will be called, but fans are promised all will be revealed at this weekend’s Star Wars Celebration.